Motivating Mum UK

Hands up if you love The Lion King? We do, and so does just about everybody under 20 that I know, not to mention most of their parents and grandparents. I cannot believe that it is 17 years since the film first came out.

I got really excited when I heard they were re-releasing the Lion King in 3D, because it is one of my favourite Disney movies ever. When I heard we were going to see an exclusive pre-release screening, I almost jumped out of my seat screaming. I am such an embarrassing mum, I know.

Back when my children were small we probably watched the Lion King every day (sometimes twice) for about six months to a year. Some of the films and TV shows that they got hooked on, bored me to tears after the tenth or eleventh run through, but the Lion King never did. I think it’s fair to say that I know most of the lines off by heart and certainly all of the songs. I also took my daughter to see the Lion King stage show when she was 5, and she absolutely loved it, as did I

That was then, this is now. My children have moved on a bit – to Doctor Who and Horrible Histories, but even so, when I told them we were going to see the Lion King in 3D, even they began to get excited.

We all love Simba and Nala – I think now, my children can identify even more with them as they take their first steps away from their parents, try to make some decisions by themselves and get into some scrapes. My son loves Timon and Pumbaa – lovable rogues who live a carefree lifestyle that I’m sure my kids would love to emulate. Now my children are a bit older they get the fart jokes a bit more too. Rowan Atkinson makes a fantastic job of Zazu – we all know someone like that don’t we? I also think that Jeremy Irons’ Scar is a wonderfully acted dramatic, tragic figure, and I also love the daft hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. All cartoon villains should be so stupid….

From the very first chorus by Rafiki -”Nants’ingonyama bakithi baba!“, through “Circle of Life“, “I Just Can’t Wait to be King“, “Hakuna Matata“, and of course “Can You Feel the Love Tonight“, I had to sit on my hands and bite my lip, to stop from dancing in the aisles and joining in. The main thing wrong with the screening for me is that it wasn’t a singalong – note to cinemas – I would certainly pay again to come along and sing. But I do realise what an embarrassing mummy I am and so I just about managed to contain myself for this screening.

Since 3D started to get popular in the last couple of years, a lot of cartoon films have had scenes written with 3D in mind (eg the flying scene in Rio). However the Lion King was written before 3D – I was wondering how it would stack up and whether the new technology would add anything to what I already think of as a brilliant film.

The honest answer is – in parts it was stunning – especially the Circle of Life sequence at the beginning, which brought tears to my eyes, but in other parts the images blurred a bit and I was aware of the double image and lost the 3rd dimension in my head, particularly in the action scenes like the fight between Simba and Scar. This might have just been where we were sitting in the cinema – but my husband and I came away with the feeling that we had seen 3D done better in other films. My daughter said she liked the blurry effect she said it made the action more real – my son said it made him feel a bit sick.

Even despite that though we all had a good time. I had a big lump in my throat, and really enjoyed seeing a film on the big screen that we had only previously watched on video. One small note to anyone else who has only seen it on video before – this is a slightly different cut of the movie, with a few bits missing, including the song – the Morning Report.

The Lion King in 3D is definitely going to be a huge hit this autumn – if you know it and love it – then get along and see it again. If for some reason it has passed you by (where have you been?) then grab your chance – it really is a fabulous spectacle. And if your kids were too young last time it was in the cinema, and you haven’t bought them the video yet (or even if you have), then make sure you take them along too.

Simba, Mufasa, Nala, Scar, Timon and Pumbaa are back and better than ever as one of Disney’s best loved animations, The Lion King, roars into theatres nationwide in breathtaking Disney Digital 3D™. A special four week theatrical extravaganza kicks off on 7 October, showcasing the Oscar® and Golden Globe® winning film on the big screen in 3D for the first time ever.

The celebrations will continue as the highly anticipated home entertainment debuts on 7 November, celebrating the Diamond Edition release of the epic masterpiece in spine tingling high-definition Disney Blu-ray™, Disney 3D Blu-ray and DVD along with a special Triple Pack featuring The Lion King movie trilogy. You can pre-order the DVD on Amazon
The Lion King (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray)

If you would like to be kept informed when I review future children’s films, books and DVD releases, please click here. The next one will be the DVD release of Rio in October.